Ji Rongxia suddenly felt as if he’d been set ablaze.

Before he could even process what was happening, he had already flung the bamboo curtain in his hand onto the stall.

“What did you say? You little brat!” Ji Rongxia’s body was about to charge forward before his brain could catch up, but Gu Tangjin grabbed his arm.

At that moment, Liang Laoniang and Liang Dafeng, who had been lurking in the corner, rushed out. Liang Dafeng stood behind Liang Laoniang, looking as if to say, “Let’s see who dares to make a move.”

The host’s emotions were in turmoil, causing the Cooking God System to automatically exit its semi-dormant state. It urged, “Host, calm down! Calm down!”

“Oh my, they’re just kids—you’re actually going to hit them?”

“What do kids know? They’re just fooling around.”

Liang Laoniang smiled with great tenderness, looking every bit the easygoing old woman.

Her narrow, triangular eyes sparkled with smug satisfaction.

Hmph, does this deaf man really think he can hit someone?

Seeing someone backing him up, Liang Dabao grew even bolder. Hiding behind Liang Laoniang, he stuck his tongue out at Ji Rongxia and Gu Tangjin: “Haha, a cripple is a cripple—I can’t even say that? Grandma, I didn’t say anything wrong.”

“Oh my, why do you blurt out everything you hear, you child?” Liang Laoniang scolded him lightly, then turned to Ji Rongxia and Gu Tangjin and said, “Children don’t know any better; don’t take it to heart.”

One of the onlookers chimed in: “Exactly, exactly. Xia-ger, don’t let a child get to you.”

Others tried to smooth things over: “It’s just a child; they’ll stop once they’ve had their fun. Just shoo them away—you should get back to setting up your stall.”

“What are you doing here, getting in the way? Xiucai Gu, Xia-ger, my child doesn’t know any better—don’t take it seriously.” Others, having spotted their own children in the mix, came over to smooth things over.

More and more people gathered to watch the commotion.

Ji Rongxia was so exasperated that he laughed.

Great, just great. Now he knew exactly who was behind this.

He knew Tangjin’s limp was an act, but to outsiders, it looked real!

If he backed down today, by tomorrow, everyone in Wuqu Alley would be calling Tangjin “Limp Tang.”

Even the Cooking God System was speechless. Was this woman crazy? Instead of living a normal life, she had to go and make things miserable for his host and the host’s partner?!

No, it had to help the host and the host’s partner. But before it could figure out how to do so, Ji Rongxia spoke up.

“Stop acting all high and mighty here! That brat hasn’t even swallowed the candy yet, and you, you stingy old miser, are handing out candy for no reason in broad daylight! I think you’re the one stirring up trouble behind the scenes. I won’t hold it against the kid, but I’ll hold it against you, you heartless old hag!!!”

As he spoke, Ji Rongxia shook off Gu Tangjin’s hand and lunged forward, landing two sharp slaps across Liang Laoniang’s face.

The force of Ji Rongxia’s blows left Liang Laoniang dazed.

She couldn’t believe Ji Rongxia actually dared to hit her, a woman with one foot already in the grave.

Liang Laoniang tried to pull her old trick of flopping onto the ground and wailing.

But just as she was about to collapse in a fit of tears, Ji Rongxia grabbed her by the collar and yanked her to her feet!

All those days of fine food, drink, and knife skills hadn’t been wasted—Ji Rongxia tossed Liang Laoniang around like a flailing hen.

“You’re supposed to cry, make a scene, and threaten to hang yourself. Go ahead, lie down and cry, make a scene—you don’t need to hang yourself. You want to? I’ll carry you there right now!!!!” Ji Rongxia said viciously.

Liang Laoniang was so terrified that she flailed her short arms and legs, kicking and swinging wildly. With her feet off the ground, she was truly frightened. Ji Rongxia tugged on her collar and swung her about. Liang Laoniang was shaken until her limbs went limp; the collar tightened around her neck, cutting off her breath and making her vision spin.

She couldn’t speak, but Ji Rongxia insisted she do so.

“Weren’t you quite the chatterbox just a moment ago?”

“Speak! Are you done causing trouble?!”

Tears welled up in Liang Laoniang’s eyes. She never imagined this deaf girl was such a living nightmare.

“No, let me go. I’m not causing trouble anymore, I’m not.”

This time, Gu Tangjin didn’t stop Ji Rongxia. He’d only intervened earlier because he feared Xia-ger’s beating of these children would provoke public outrage and backfire on him—but what was the point of stopping him now?

As long as the beating didn’t kill him, he’d take the blame for Xia-ger.

He stepped directly in front of Liang Dafeng. Just as Liang Dafeng was about to step in to help, Gu Tangjin kicked him, sending him sprawling.

“Ouch.” Liang Dafeng let out a cry of pain and landed squatting on his butt.

When he was knocked down, Liang Dafeng was still a bit dazed. How could someone as frail as Gu Tangjin have that kind of strength?

Gu Tangjin certainly looked frail, but he did heavy labor every day and had spent time in the provincial capital, where he’d seen plenty of thugs and hoodlums. Having been out on his own for so many years, he wasn’t exactly a novice at fighting. Compared to the lazy and slick Liang Dafeng, Gu Tangjin was far more agile and decisive.

Liang Dafeng tried to fight back, but Gu Tangjin didn’t give him a chance. Grabbing him by the collar, he unleashed a flurry of punches, leaving Liang Dafeng speechless and only able to groan in pain.

Even the Cooking God System was stunned. Was this really the same gentle and refined partner of his host, and the same carefree, always-smiling host?

One was truly fearless in fighting, and the other was truly fearless in protecting.

Thank goodness, thank goodness—he was on the same side as his host and the host’s partner!

While Liang Laoniang and Liang Dafeng were getting beaten, the two children, Liang Dabao and Liang Erbao, paid no attention at all. Instead, they lunged toward the food stall, trying to stand on tiptoes to grab the pan-fried buns. Liu Dalang stepped forward, grabbed Liang Dabao and Liang Erbao’s hands, and pulled them aside.

Liang Erbao: “Let go!”

Liang Dabao: “You hit me! Dad, someone hit me!”

“Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing? You’re not little beggars—you can’t just climb onto the stall and grab food!” Guan Hongchi leaned against the door of the noodle shop, speaking in a sarcastic tone. Those who had seen Liang Dabao make a move and were hoping to snatch a free meal all gave up on the idea.

A few children still tried to grab food, but Guan Hongchi called them out by name: “Wu Sanlang, Pei Dalang, Zhou Xiao-ger—oh my, you’re really acting like little beggars. Do you want me to give you a bowl of soup? Hahahaha.”

The few who had just been making snide remarks instantly turned red-faced and began scolding their own children.

“Eat, eat, eat—all you ever think about is eating! Do you have to eat every single thing that’s good? Huh? What if you get sick from it?” Pei Dalang’s father grabbed him and scolded him, using a roundabout way of speaking.

While beating someone, Gu Tangjin found a moment to look up and say to Liu Dalang: “I’m counting on you, Brother Liu. Share the Pan-fried buns with everyone who’s helping out. Whoever insults the Liang family gets two buns.”

Ji Rongxia chuckled upon hearing this and said, “You think my family’s food isn’t good enough to eat? What a joke! Whoever comes up with a good insult, I’ll sell them my Pan-fried buns for two wen each from now on!”

Only after saying this did he mercifully—or so it seemed—‘gently’ set Liang Laoniang down on the ground.

The moment her feet touched the ground, her legs gave way, and she collapsed right there. She clenched her lips, about to scream, but Ji Rongxia simply shook his arm, signaling that if she dared to make a sound, he’d pick her up again and let her experience once more what it felt like to be hung.

Liang Laoniang fell silent immediately.

Ji Rongxia’s words made Pei Dalang’s sfather’s face flush with embarrassment, though inside he was filled with regret. Why had he spoken so hastily? Everyone in Wuqu Alley knew how delicious Xia-ger’s pan-fried buns were—he could have gotten two for free, which would have saved him five wen.

But at that moment, he couldn’t bring himself to back down, so he could only drag his own child away, slinking off in shame.

Lin Dongshan hadn’t said a word at first, but when he heard about free Pan-fried buns, he gave a mental cheer, thinking, “So that’s how it is.” After all, he was the only one in his family, and as a strapping young man, he feared nothing. He chuckled and said, “That’s too kind of you. Xia-ger is a tough old veteran with a soft heart, and Xiucai Gu is such a good person. Yet she still plays tricks—doesn’t she fear being reincarnated as a pig, dog, cow, or sheep in her next life, only to be slaughtered for meat?”

These words made Liang Laoniang shudder; she truly believed in reincarnation.

Lin Dongshan had stumbled into this by accident. Liu Dalang grinned and handed Lin Dongshan two pan-fried buns: “Here, have these.”

Lin Dongshan had broken the ice; those who didn’t live on Wuqu Alley began to speak up one after another. Before long, the residents of Wuqu Alley joined in the cursing, and Ge Fulang from the Liu Family Pastry Shop, mingling among them, hurled several insults at them as well.

There were only so many pan-fried buns—if you didn’t curse fast enough, they’d be gone!!!

When Liang Erfeng and Old Man Liang rushed over, they were immediately showered with insults.

“You finally decided to show up? Did you come here to get beaten? You didn’t teach your own kids properly—all they know is how to come out and make a spectacle of themselves!”

“Your kid is such a glutton—just reaching out to grab things from someone else’s stall. He’s practically acting like a beggar. I bet no one taught him manners at home!”

“You’re just now showing up? I bet you’ve been hiding somewhere the whole time.”

Liang Erfeng and Old Man Liang had seen Liang Laoniang acting suspiciously early that morning. They knew exactly what she was up to, but hadn’t they stayed out of it?

So why were they getting yelled at, too?

It wasn’t just them getting yelled at.

Gu Tangjin released Liang Dafeng, who had wet himself from the beating and fright, and said to the two of them, “Take him away and clean up the mess.”

Old Man Liang’s face stiffened. At his age, few people spoke to him like that. He clasped his hands behind his back, about to say something.

Gu Tangjin said nothing more and landed another hard punch on Liang Dafeng.

The moment Old Man Liang opened his mouth, Gu Tangjin struck him.

He even took a couple of steps toward Liang Erfeng, as if to drag Old Man Liang’s second son over to beat him too. Old Man Liang quickly said, “I—I’ll take him away right now.”

He never knew Gu Xiucai was such a reckless person before!!!

The two of them had no choice but to endure the insults as they cleaned up the floor and led away Liang Laoniang, Liang Dafeng, Liang Dabao, and Liang Erbao, who were hiding nearby, afraid of getting beaten.

Ji Rongxia clapped his hands with a smile: “Everyone, I’m in a good mood today. From now on, everyone here—except the Liang family and those families with the ill-mannered kids—will get Pan-fried buns for two wens apiece!”

Lin Dongshan clapped his hands with delight: “Great, just great! Xiucai, Xia-ger is so generous.”

Liu Dalang chuckled: “That’s right. Not like some families who sell buns a whole size smaller than everyone else’s.”

Although Ji Rongxia was smiling, his anger hadn’t subsided at all.

He hadn’t taken the pan-fried buns incident to heart last time, but now that they were coming at him again, they were practically asking for a beating.

He hadn’t made any money today—in fact, he’d lost a bit. Ji Rongxia cursed under his breath: What a stroke of bad luck!

But he had to take action today. They would surely be buying fields and shops in the future; he couldn’t let trouble keep his family from living a good life. If people thought they were easy to push around this time, the trouble down the road would be endless.

Guan Hongchi chuckled, “I must say, you gave me quite a scare. I was thinking of coming up to help, but it turns out I wasn’t needed after all.”

Liu Dalang added, “I was even ready to go call my younger brother.”

Ge Fulang had watched the commotion unfold. Hearing his son speak like that, he glared at him. “With your skinny arms and legs, I reckon Xiucai Gu could beat up two of you and still have energy to spare. You really are Brother Gu’s son.”

If not for today, Ge Fulang wouldn’t have known that Xiucai Gu could actually fight. He really is Chef Gu’s son—Chef Gu must have fought a lot in his youth.

Chef Gu had fled here during a famine; he’d literally crawled out from among the dead, and he was full of a fierce, violent spirit.

To be honest, back in his youth, Ge Fulang was actually quite afraid of him. Even though they lived close by, he’d always go out of his way to avoid the Gu Eatery—which is why he’d never been on good terms with the Gu family.

Speak of the devil—Gu Chuncai emerged with a grim expression: “What just happened? Why is it so chaotic?”

“Oh my, Uncle Gu, you’re a bit late—you missed the whole thing.” Guan Hongchi gave a brief account of the incident. “That old woman from the Liang family brought a few kids over, trying to imitate Xiucai Gu’s mannerisms. She even brought Liang Dafeng along, acting like they were ready for a fight. Xia-ger and Xiucai Gu sent them packing right away. They probably won’t dare come back this time.”

Today’s incident had actually startled him a bit—those two just went at it without hesitation.

Still, even though they beat them up so hard, they didn’t seriously hurt anyone. Xia-ger and Xiucai Gu knew their limits.

Guan Hongchi thought to himself that he should spend more time with the two of them in the future to build a relationship.

After hearing Guan Hongchi’s words, Gu Chuncai’s face darkened even further, and Yao Tianlan didn’t look happy either.

They were both getting on in years and believed in the saying that “harmony brings prosperity.” Were they being treated like pushovers?

“Does your hand hurt?” Gu Tangjin asked with concern as he packed up his stall.

Ji Rongxia glanced at a few acquaintances nearby and waved his hand sheepishly: “It’s nothing. I was actually going to ask if your hand hurts.”

Gu Tangjin flexed his fingers and said, “I’m fine.”

Ji Rongxia tilted his chin slightly: “Then I’m fine too.”

Gu Chuncai and Yao Tianlan: “……”

Suddenly, they weren’t quite so angry anymore.